Rolling massager



March 6, 1962 F. J. BAUME Y 3,023,749

ROLLING MASSAGER Filed March 30, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Frank J. Baume INVENTOR.

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March 6, 1962 F. J. BAUME ROLLING MASSAGER 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March50, 1960 Fig. 4

Frank J. Baume IN VEN TOR.

United States Patent '0 3,023,749 ROLLING MASSAGER Frank J. Baume, Box1656, San Francisco, Calif. Filed Mar. 30, 1960, Ser. No. 18,748 6Claims. (Cl. 128-57) This invention relates to massaging devices andmore particularly to massagers for local massaging.

An object of the invention is to provide devices for causing a forwardand reverse massaging effect on local areas of a person by simplyholding one of the devices on the spot to be massaged or gently rub thedevice over the local area. This is in distinction to the vibratingefl'ect of the commercially available vibrating massage devices whichmust be pushed forward and backward in order to obtain the true massageor migrating efiect.

Although massagers in accordance with the invention have a principalapplication in connection with massaging local areas of a human being,it is to be understood that the principles of the invention areapplicable in other environments, for instance there are many industrialuses where soft pressure of one material to the other is required, andfor that pressure to be circulated or otherwise moved. 1

Another object of the invention is to provide portable, easily used andpractical local massage devices which have a movable member caused totravel in a constrained path of movement. The path of movement hassubstantial length and is rectilinear as opposed to vibratory.

Briefly, messagers or massage devices in accordance with the inventionhave a portable motor supported on or forming a part of the frame ofeach device, and the motor supplies torque which is transferred to aforce for propulsion of a small carriage through a prescribed path oftravel. The means for utilizing the torque may be varied, for instancethey may include a reversing screw i.e. a screw with a double, reversethread or a chain and sprocket arrangement. In either of these specificexamples and others, the carriages support rollers which travel over theinner surface of a resilient member or panel causing it to deflect. Thispanel is applied to the local region where the massage is desired sothat the rollers of the carriage do not make direct contact with thisregion, usually a part of the body of a human being.

Accordingly, it is a further object of the invention to provide amechanically simple and practical device for applying local massage toselected areas with the massage device or devices being portable andeasily handled and used.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a massage device in accordancewith the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a top view of the massage device of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 33 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional View taken on the line 4-4 of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 5 is a sectional View taken on the line 5--5 of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view showing the lowerpart of the device in FIGURE 1 in use.

FIGURE 7 is a vertical sectional view showing a modification ofimportance precisely equal to the importance of the modification niFIGURE 1.

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FIGURE 8 is a sectional view taken on the line 8-8 of FIGURE 7.

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary elevational view showing one of the carriagesin the massage device of FIGURE 7.

In the accompanying drawings reference is first made to FIGURES 1-6showing massage device 10. The massage device is made of a main frame 12having a motor 14 secured thereto. The main frame is built up of severalparts, although it is evident that various manufacturing techniques maybe resorted to in alteration of the frame. For the purpose ofillustration frame 12 (FIGURE 3) is shown as having an essentiallyL-shaped member 16 with side 18 and side 20 joined together at rightangles to each other. The motor 14 is in a motor housing 22, and thehousing is attached to a formed cover panel 24 surrounding frame member16 at one end and fastened in place by means of bolts 26. The poweroutput shaft 30 of motor 14 extends into the cavity 32 defined by theframe, and it has a pinion 34 attached thereto. The pinion is thenmeshed with a gear 36 driven by the pinion, and the gear 36 is securedto the shaft 38 which will be described in detail subsequently. Handle46 has a flange 4-2 at one end fitting flush against the surface of amotor housing 22 and held firmly in place, for instance by screws orbolts 44. The handle is preferably tubular and of hollow construction,and it is secured to a post 46 at one end by means of screws 48 or thelike. The switch 50 is wired conventionally with the motor to controlthe energization and operation of the motor, and a line cord 52 extendsinto the hollow handle and is operatively connected with a switch 50. v

Formed panel 24 has a portion 54 attached to post 46 and spaced fromhandle 50 to provide a hand opening 56 therebetween. This enables thedevice 10 to be manipulated and held very conveniently and easily. Thelower end of the formed panel 24 is open as at 60, however, there is aresilient membrane or panel 62 extending over the opening. The resilientpanel 62 may be also considered as a diagram, and it is preferably madeof rubber with the edge 64 turned up and fitted behind binding strip 66that is attached by screws 68 to the edges of formed panel 24surrounding the lower open end 60 thereof. It is to be further notedfrom inspection of FIGURES 3 and 4 that the resilient panel 62 forms aclosure for the cavity 32.

Shaft 38 has its ends mounted for rotation in antifriction bearings 69and 70, and there is an intermediate bearing 71 supported by a bearingweb 72 which is secured to the top and sides of the formed panel 24between the ends thereof. Bearings 69 and 70 may be set in openingsprovided in the frame member 16 and flat post 46 respectively, in orderto have a substantial construction. The shaft 38 has two sections 74 and75 with reverse threads thereon. The threads themselves are conventionaland by having pins 76 and 77 engaged therewith, the screwthreads onshaft 38 form two Yankee screws which function to cause the pins 77 and76 to travel back and forth along the length of the screws defined bythe screwthread sections of the shaft 38 in response to rotation ofshaft 38 in only one direction. Spoken otherwise, shaft 38 rotates inone direction i.e. clockwise or counterclockwise, but the pins 76 and 77travel back and forth along the length of the sections of the shaft.Thrust bearings 79 and 89 are attached to the shaft 38 on opposite facesof bearing 71 to prevent end play of shaft 38.

Pins 76 and 77 constitute integral parts of two identical carriages 82and 84 which are mounted on the two threaded sections of shaft 38. Sinceboth carriages are identical only one carriage 82 is shown in detail(FIG- URE 4) and consists of a U-shaped frame or yoke 85 with sides 86and 87 connected to a transverse member 88 at one pair of ends thereof.Bracket 89 is fixed to the bottom surface of member 88 and has anopening 90 therein into which pin 76 projects for engagement with thescrewthread 74. An axle 91 extends transversely across the lower ends ofsides 86 and 87 and is mounted for rotation in openings thereof. Tworollers 92 and 93 With a spacer 94 therebetween, are mounted forrotation on axle 91, and parts of the rollers project beneath the loweredge of opening 60. Consequently, they bear against the diaphragm 62 andcause it to deflect outwardly of opening 60.

- In use, energization of motor 14 will cause the shaft 38 to rotate andthe carriages 82 and 84 to move back and forth on the threaded sectionsof the shaft. The result is that the rollers 92 and 93 of each carriagewill traverse the inner surface of the diaphragm 62 causing it todeflect outwardly.

If the diaphragm is placed on a local area to be massaged, there will bea rolling action on one surface of the diaphragm, but this rollingaction will be felt as a travelling pressure on the surface, noting thatthe rollers 92 and 93 roll on the inner surface of the diaphragm 62while the outer surface of the diaphragm is subjected only todeflections and not to rotation of the rollers. Typical use is shown onsurface 97 (FIGURES 6 and 7).

' Reference is now made to FIGURES 7-9 showing device 100. Thismassaging device has a frame 102 made of a formed panel 104 attached toa frame member 106. However, the frame member 106 distinguishes fromframe member 16 in that it is a flat metal plate to which the housing108 of motor 110 is secured. The formed panel 104 has a lower open endor opening 112 which is where the edge portion 114 of the diaphragm 116is secured. Fastening strip 118 overlies edge 114 and may be held inplace by screws the same as the edge of the diaphragm 62. An inner framemember 124, preferably oval in shape (FIGURE 8) fits flush against theinside surface of the lower portion of the formed frame member foradditional support and rigidity. The upper edges of frame member 124 aresecured to the frame member 106, and cooperating with the frame member106, frame member 124 defines a cavity 128 within which operatingmechanism 130 is disposed.

Shaft 130 of the motor 110 is the power output shaft, and there is aworm gear 132 fixed thereto. The worm gear is enmeshed with a gear wheel134, and the gear wheel 134 is secured to a shaft 136. The shaft 136 issupported in an upper bearing 138, the latter being secured to the toppart 'of formed panel 102. Coupling In the use of this form of themassager or massage device, the carriages travel in a circular path ofmovement, but the side runs of each carriage are rectilinear in theirmotion just the same as the entire movement of carriages 82 and 84 arerectilinear in movement.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since" numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention asclaimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A massage device comprising a frame, a motor carried by said frame,at least one carriage, means including a shaft drivingly connected withand rotated by said motor so as to move said carriage in a path ofmovement, at least part of the path of movement being rectilinear, aflexible diaphragm attached to said frame, said carriage including atleast one roller, and the roller of said carriage continuously bearingagainst said diaphragm and deflecting said diaphragm during saidmovement of said 140 is attached to the lower end of shaft 136, and itengages the rotary shaft 142 that passes through an opening in framemember 106. Bearing 144 is secured to frame member 106 and is located incavity 108. The shaft 142 is passed through this bearing and has asprocket 146 (FIGURE 8) fixed thereto. Endless chain 148 constitutes apart of mechanism 130 and is engaged with sprocket 126. The idlersprocket 150 for the endless chain is mounted for rotation on a freeturning spindle 152 which is supported by .bearing 154 attached to framemember 106.

Two identical carriages 160 and 162 are secured to the endless chain148, and these carriages respond in function to the two carriages 82 and84.

7 Typical carriage 160 is shown in detail in FIGURE 6 and includes anessentially U-shaped frame or yoke 162 which is approximately the sameas a frame or yoke 82.

The axle 164 of carriage 160 supports a pair of rollers 165 and 166, andthese sweep and roll' across the inner surface of membrane 62, noting(FIGURE 7) that portions of the rollers project below the lower edge ofthe opening of the main frame of the massage device. Spindle 168attached to the center of the connecting member of carriage. 160. isused to secure the carriage 160 to one link of the endless chain 148. r

carriage, said means including said shaft further including an endlesshollow flexible member lying in a plane substantially parallel to theplane of said diaphragm, a pair of spaced rotatable drive members, saidendless flexible member surrounding said drive members and in drivingengagement therewith, said shaft attached to one of said drive members,means mounting the other drive member for rotation with respect to saidframe.

2. The subject matter of claim 1 wherein said frame ha a formed paneldefining a cavity in which said carriage is disposed, the lower edge ofsaid cavity being open, and a portion of said carriage projectingoutwardly of the open lower edge of said cavity. 7

3. The subject matter of claim 1 wherein said frame has a formed paneldefining a cavity in which said carriage is disposed, the lower edge ofsaid cavity being open, and a portion of said carriage projectingoutwardly of the open lower edge of said cavity, said flexible memberand drive members comprising a chain and sprockets respectively, saiddiaphragm extending over the open end of said cavity, said carriagehaving at least one roller thereon engaging the inside surface of saiddiaphragm, and said diaphragm being deflected in response to movement ofsaid roller on the inside surface thereof.

4. A portable massage device comprising a frame, a motor carried by saidframe, means including a panel forming a cavity and constituting a partof said frame, a pair of carriages in said cavity, means drivinglyconnecting said carriages with said motor to propel said carriages inresponse to operation of said motor, said cavity having an open end,said open end having an edge defining said open end, each of saidcarriages further including a plurality of rollers, portions of saidrollers projecting beyond said edge, and a flexible diaphragm connectedwith said frame and overlying said opening and deflected by engagementof said portions of said rollers therewith, each of said carriagescomprising a U- shaped member having a roller support shaft extendingacross its open end and said plurality of rollers mounted in saidU-shaped member on said 'support'shaft.

5. The combination of claim 4 wherein said means drivingly connectingthe carriages with the motor include reversed screwthreads on saidshaft, bearing means connected with said frame and mounting said shaftfor rotation, means on said carriage engaging said screwthreads for thepropulsion of said carriage back and forth along the longitudinal axisof said shaft in response to rotation of said shaft, and means drivinglyconnecting said shaft with said motor to rotate said shaft in responseto energization of said motor.

6. A device as defined in claim 4 wherein the frame is substantiallyL-shaped in elevation, said motor supported at one end of said L-shapedframe and on top of the vertical leg thereof and comprising acontinuation thereof, a manual gripping handle connected at one end tosaid motor and extending parallel to the lower leg of said L-shapedframe, and a vertical post connected between the other end of saidhandle and the other end of said L-shaped frame.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS BoothJuly 1, Murphy Feb. 28, Bufialow May 25, Brandenfels Nov. 3, SchrockNov. 9, Swells Jan. 20,

